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November 08, 2012

I attended TEDxHouston last weekend. It was a nice line up talks and a great collection of people. One of the talks that I found interesting was offered by Anthony Brandt - composer and music director. His message was focused on answering the question, "do we need the arts."His perspective, as you might expect, is that we do.

That's a given, here's what I found fascinating.

Anthony talked about what artistic endeavors do to our brains and how this relates to creativity. He was joined on stage by a string quartet who demonstrated his points through music.

Here's the first point: repetition "prunes" our brain. I love that word, pruning - not that I want to shrink and dehydrate my brain but that it offers a vivid image of what's happening. Anthony used the example of lullabies and why they put us to sleep - they are sweet and droning, the same phrases repeated with little change.

Instead of pruning our brains, art and artistic activities bend, break, or blend. The quartet played snippets of a Beethoven piece showing how he used all these techniques to build drama and interest.

As Anthony was talking, I could not help but think about how we communicate in the workplace. Lullaby or Beethoven? What I see is a lot of lullaby and very little Beethoven.

We tell leaders they need to communicate mission/values/goals again and again. And they do, reminding us through mouse pads and video clips. But unless we are going deeper, to the point of bending, breaking, or blending, we are just putting people asleep.

To change the culture, we need to persevere/repeat, but we should not do this in ways that prunes our brains. This idea offers leaders and opportunity to combat the lackluster vibe and engage our teams in building better futures.

What this means is that we need to let - encourage actually - employees bend, break, and blend the ideas and this means that we need to be more flexible. Allow people to create and make the organization's goals and vision their own. Not to the point that the organization goes off course - but in ways that keep it moving forward.

Leadership lullabies can be found in everyday workplace practices and messages. Most staff meetings are lullabies.

Wake up your team! Wake yourself up! If you are not creating, you are pruning.

November 01, 2012

I attended a luncheon yesterday that featured speaker, author, and researcher Brene Brown. Her newest book, called Daring Greatly helps us see the intersection between vulnerability and courage and how they are connected. Check it our here.

Her TED talk is one of the most viewed. It is called The Power of Vulnerability, check that out here.

I was struck by how Brene said that she had engineered her life to be small. I can relate and know that I have done this at times, too. And then there are moments when we play it big and we align all aspects of our lives to showcase our power and our talent.

Have you noticed how different these experiences feel? It makes me wonder why we so often go small.

Big feels like a ripe, juicy raspberry with fresh whip cream. Small is like a watery sugar juice box.

Big feels like a Fall breeze in the mountains. Small feels like a coat closet in an old house.

Big feels like a stand ovation. Small feels like waiting for a return phone call.

Why do we engineer our lives to be small?

It makes sense sometimes, I suppose. We need to want it. Over the last year, I have retreated a lot to focus on my health and that was and is the right thing for me. And yet, I know that I am ready for something big to happen soon. I will need to show up and act accordingly.

How 'bout you, are you ready to step into a bigger arena? If so, Brene's book might offer some inspiration for you.

October 23, 2012

I was talking with a small group of leaders. The conversation got to a point of talking about intentions versus what's likely and our tendency to not be open about the differences. To not be open about the known barriers. To not be open about our expectations about how managers ought to prevail in the face of these barriers.

Why do we have such a hard time being real when we communicate?

I think this common failing leads to greater victim-itis. Why? When employees hear the corporate line - intentions without the real - they write off the message as unrealistic. If we speak our intentions and then openly discuss what this means and where it will be difficult, we build ownership.

Real -> Ownership

Corporate Line -> Victim

Given this, why is real communication so rare?

Let's take some time to discuss the tasks that don't make sense, address concerns, invite a challenge, and be open about goals that stretch way out there. What are the hassles? What are we doing that we should not be (everyone knows it)?

Don't paint your organizational "turds" pink. Doing so will not make the situation smell any better. It will cause people to disconnect, shrug off accountability, and under perform. Call it like you see it. Encourage others to call it like they see it.

Really.

BTW - On a related but different note, I have noticed that the less cocky I am about my work the better people think it is. It's nutty. I have been embracing my imperfectness and am getting more atta-girls and wows from others. Being real make you seem less flawed in others' eyes. Go figure.

October 16, 2012

It is Boss's Day. If you are a manager, why not turn this day around and use it to give thanks for the opportunity to lead. It's a privilege to have responsibility for a piece of the business and to shepherd a team to victory.

If your team forgets to acknowledge you, don't sweat it. Boss's Day is a made up holiday - first created to honor a dad, but now more commercial than anything. Many people don't even know about it. Don't hope for something and then be disappointed. If your team does not remember, it does not mean anything.

Doing something great for others is fun, so how about you bring in the Krispy Kremes. You suggest a mid-afternoon run for Pumpkin Lattes. You offer thanks to your team.

Be the boss that makes every day a great day at work.

Oh, and why not thank your boss, too! Be the nexus of celebration and radiating good vibes.

October 10, 2012

I just got internet service after being without for about a week. Moving is a drain! As a result, I am woefully behind in sharing a few important links with you. Stuff that is happening that you should check out. Yes, yes, I know that places like Starbucks have free wifi and that my excuse seems quite lame. But did I mention that I have been moving? I have had no time to lallygag at my local coffee shop.

This first share is very time sensitive with a 10/11 deadline. Pal and fellow blogger and brain expert Ellen Weber is doing a webinar for ASTD called, Revolutionize Your Next Meeting. A webinar about meetings from a brain expert? Hmmm, that's gotta be interesting! See more here. The webinar is on Thursday, 10/11 at 1pm Eastern Time. Oh, and it's FREE! Check it out here.

Speaking of ASTD, I have been meaning to tell you about a new community of practice for managers and leaders they launched called Workforce Development. As you know, I have been a member and actively involved with ASTD for years. They are a great organization with a lot of resources that can benefit managers. Check out the new community here - you can get some great stuff for free and also become a member to access very well produced and helpful learning resources and management training and development. And here is guest blog post of mine they put up called, Managerial Moments of Truth.

This next share is WAY overdue. I feel guilt! I have shared the work of Raj Setty before. He is an amazing thinker and fellow author and blogger. He is one of the most creative and determined people I know. He recently published a book called, Blogtastic! Growing and Making a Difference Through Blogging. Check it out here. In this book Raj has assembled lessons learned from dozens of bloggers including yours truly. If you have an interest in blogging - or just writing or communication in general, I think you will enjoy this. Oh, and check out the site for the book even if you don't want to blog. It is a great example of how to build an engaging product, book, site, and community together. Unless your business targets subsistence farmers living off the grid, there is something to learn here.

Here is one more share. My new puppy dogs! About a month ago we suffered the loss of our faithful dog Pako, who died of heart failure at the age of 13. We are dog people (and cat people) so we decided to adopt again from our local wonderful shelter (CAP, great place here in Houston). We are happy to welcome Hazel and Max to the family (the cats are not yet so thrilled). Here they are!

Hazel, 2.5 years old- a sweetie pie who loves to play.

MAX, 7 years old - We also call him "Houdini" because he can get into and out of everything!

October 01, 2012

I was talking to two leaders. It was a good conversation overall, but there was a moment when they both perked up and smiled. One moment when the conversation changed. It happened when I said the words, "how to be unstoppable without compromise."

It is interesting how certain words evoke certain feelings.

The idea of being unstoppable is quite lovely. It speaks to perseverance. It speaks to follow-through. It speaks to courage and strength and triumph.

Being unstoppable means being the best we can be.

What matters to you enough that you might be willing to be unstoppable?

To be unstoppable we need to:

Involve others.

Keep asking. What else? What's next? How else? Who do we need? What can I do?

September 23, 2012

Bill and I spent the last 10 days in Scotland. Hiking in the highlands, discovering ancient pubs and little known whiskies, and soaking in the Scottish way.

I am still jet lagged but I want to make sure and remember one important impression, even lesson. Simple can be good. We can say and do this in many ways. It happens when people choose to be picky/deliberate about a few things that are important but then being flexible about most everything else.

For example, one of our drivers was formerly a head chef. But he and his wife wanted to live in a particular small town. If you want to live in a small town, you might need to be ready to take most any job. The life is the ends that justifies the means.

Here is another example. We stayed at a small Inn owned by two art lovers. The place was cool and inspiring. It had other quirks and more than a few imperfections but was beautiful and felt oddly complete and right.

The grocery stores offer fewer options, but always a few interesting ones.

Life can be hard, but instead of trying to engineer all the hard out of it (strikes me that this would be the American approach, to tackle it all), they embrace it and build strength where it is most needed and important.

A good day is one that ends with a lively conversation with mates and a wee dram of fine whisky trickling to the back of our mouths. Warming our day and fueling contentment.

Simple works well. I am learning this lesson late but am glad I am learning it. If we choose what's important - if we obsess in the direction of our interests - then we can reduce a lot of stress and worry about things that don't matter - should not matter - can't be affected even if they do matter.

It's time to do fewer things and do them well. Really. I mean it. This is something we say but few of us do this well or are able to sell the idea at work. We should try harder and try again. I was talking to a leader a couple of weeks ago about this. He made some offhand comment about how doing fewer things well is a nice concept but a fairy tale. I assured him I was serious and made the case that it's the only thing that might really work - spreading our efforts so thin that there is no depth does not work and we know it.

I enjoyed Scotland a lot. I dig the vibe. The honest way of living and how each person sems driven by a couple of priorities, but not too many.

September 06, 2012

I was reading a post from a friend and want to share this line from his post:

"I am not just a statistic, provided I do what it takes to be an outlier."

I love the way he put this. It is so true, too. Are you being - I mean being, like how you are living in this moment - a statistic or an outlier? What are the outliers doing that is different? This is a provocative question and one we can all learn from.

Sometimes I feel like I am being - acting in this moment - like an outlier. Too often, though, I am like many.....floating along, living more in "wishful thinking" mode than "gettin' her done" mode.

As someone with big goals and vivid dreams - I would serve my intentions well to align my actions a bit better and ramp up my clarity and focus.

As someone living with cancer - I would serve my goals well to not let time dull my resolve and commitment. I must admit I feel like the last couple of months have not been my best in this regard.

I love the way my friend put this personal challenge out there - actually it is a simple acknowledgement of what is. Today's outcomes are the result of yesterday's actions. Today's actions will generate the future. Let's make sure our future is filled with amazing surprises, positive breakthroughs, and outlier outstanding performance.

September 04, 2012

And before you think that living in the big state of Texas has made my head swell, the five earth shattering ideas are not mine - they are big insights that I learned from my smart pals (all of whom are also management experts and fond of riding on the edge - I will reveal their names during the webinar).

Here is the official title of the webinar:

“Five Earth-Shattering Topics for Management Development That I Learned From My Friends"

Who should attend: All managers, leaders, management developers, OD people and HR people. Anyone who reads this blog, for sure. You!! Go on, now, sign up.

During this webinar, I will share five management insights that ought to be at the center of our development plans or programs, but that likely aren't. And here is what I mean by earth shattering:

Counter-intuitive - we are likely doing, thinking, or reinforcing the opposite and going in the wring direction! Yikes! Course correction needed.

Often not associated with management - sometimes we think management is something it is not and fail to recognize what it really OUGHT TO BE.

Catalytic - the idea has the potential to be a serious game changer. Creating new realities like this - POW! BAP! Zowy!

This will not be a boring bullet point webinar - no way. ASTD asked me to do a webinar and I pitched this idea because I knew it would be fun and insanely useful. They eagerly played along and I think that is pretty cool.

I hope to see you online next Wednesday and I hope to rock your managerial world. Tilt on your axis and spinning in new directions toward the bright light of the double sun galaxy. (Not to be confused with a double rainbow).